It is a well-known practice to add sodium nitrite to meat products, particularly bacon, to improve the quality and taste and to further inhibit the growth of deadly botulinal toxin during storage of the meat prior to consumption. Approximately ten years ago, it was discovered that during the cooking of such nitrite-containing meat products, N-nitrosamines such a N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were formed as a result of chemical reactions between certain classes of amines comprising natural components of such foods and the nitrite additive used in the curing and preservation of the meat product. Such N-nitrosamines have now been shown to be carcinogens in animals and considerable work has been conducted to suppress or inhibit the formation of such N-nitrosamines during the cooking or frying stage of such meat products.
Recently, it has been discovered that dl-alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E), when incorporated in such meat products prior to cooking, is effective in suppressing the formation of N-nitrosamines. The dl-alpha-tocopherol employed is in the form of a water insoluble viscous liquid which has been employed in the so-called "dry curing" of meat products by direct application to the surface of the meat to which the meat curing additives are also added, such as the curing salt, nitrites, and other conventional curing additives. This method of dry curing meat products has the disadvantage of requiring lengthy time periods of up to about two weeks to penetrate the meat product, and the distribution of the cure and liquid tocopherol additive is less than uniform. For these reasons, over 90 percent of bacon is cured employing the so-called "wet curing" process in which a brine solution or "curing pickle" incorporating the curing additives and, experimentally, the alpha-tocopherol agent is injected at various locations into pork bellies employing tubular needles whereby a more rapid cure and more uniform distribution of the curing agent is attained.
A continuing problem associated with such wet curing or "pump" techniques is the difficulty of incorporating and maintaining the alpha-tocopherol in a curing pickle in a uniform dispersed condition due to its hydrophobic characteristics necessitating the use of relatively high concentrations of emulsifying agents. For example, 200 ppm of polysorbate 60 or 80 are required in the brine solution to retain pumpability thereof. Such high levels of synthetic emulsifying agents required and the tendency of such brine solutions to become unstable resulting in segregation and/or agglomeration of the alpha-tocopherol additive has detracted somewhat from the efficient use of such solutions.
A further problem associated with both the dry and wet curing systems has been the difficulty of providing an alpha-tocopherol containing curing material which is uniform and free flowing enabling uniform distribution of the material directly on the surface of the meat products to be cured or in the continuous feeding of such a mixture to a brine tank for replenishment of the brine solution as it is consumed.
The present invention overcomes many of the problems and disadvantages associated with prior art compositions and techniques by providing a substantially dry free-flowing particulate mixture which is stable in storage and can effectively be employed in both the dry curing and wet curing methods and which upon dissolution forms a brine solution in which the alpha-tocopherol is substantially uniformly distributed in the presence of only moderate agitation, assuring pumpability of the brine curing solution and uniform distribution of the additive ingredients therein throughout the meat product.